Using Cura 2 for the first time

Starting Cura for the first time

After installation you can open Cura for the first time. Simply open Cura from your applications folder (or wherever you have installed Cura).

Select printer

When you open Cura for the first time, you will be asked to select the 3D printer that you have. If (official) upgrades are available for your Ultimaker you can select these as well. For the Ultimaker Original+ and Ultimaker Original you will be guided through a configuration wizard to set up and calibrate your Ultimaker correctly.

Optionally, you can give the printer a unique name.

Load a model

Click on the ‘Open File’ button in the top left corner of the screen. Select the model you want to prepare for printing and open it. The model will now be loaded and shown on the 3D viewer.

Select a profile

After loading the model you can select which settings you would like to use for the 3D print. In the settings panel on the right side you will find some Print job information. Here you will see for which printer the model will be sliced. For some printers you can also select the nozzle size and material that will be used.

Below the Print job information you can find the print settings. When you use Cura for the first time you will automatically be shown the “Simple” mode. Start by selecting a Profile:

Draft print (0.2 mm): Makes a quick and draft print.

Fast print (0.15 mm): Prints fast while retaining acceptable quality.

Normal quality (0.1 mm): Good quality print with an acceptable print time. This profile is applicable to most prints.

High quality (0.06 mm): Prints with a very smooth surface quality.

Select profile.

Additional simple mode settings

After this you can select change a few more settings:

Infill: The amount of infill that you want to have in your print (hollow, light, dense or solid) and select helpers. For infill the light profile will be sufficient for most prints.

Enable support: This will generate a support structure below overhanging parts of a model to prevent the model from sagging or printing mid-air.

Build plate adhesion: Adds a brim or raft around the base of the model to ensure the print doesn’t detach from the build plate.

Now, wait till Cura has sliced the model.

Save the file

Once your model has been sliced it’s ready for printing. Before printing we recommend you to check the Layers view in Cura. The Layers view shows a preview of the print, so you can exactly see what it will print. To open the Layers view, click on the View mode button on the left side and select Layers.

You can then save the file to your computer or directly onto the SD card of your Ultimaker. We recommend the latter one, so you can directly start printing after this.

Insert the SD card in your computer.

Click the “Save” button in the bottom right corner of the screen and save the file to the SD card.

(Safely) remove the SD card from your computer and insert it in your Ultimaker to start printing.

In the bottom right corner of the screen, you will also find print information. Cura gives an estimation on the required time and material for your print.